Thanks for the possum stories.

I have been missing them.

I have always loved possums. I hope your babies survive. You are a saint to animals and I admire you.

That was a fun read...thank you. A fox that lives on my property just had babies. Fun to see on the trail camera I have pointed at the den.

I'm glad to hear your still rescuing baby possums. They do sound difficult to raise....

Actually they are very easy, if I can get them to open their mouths. The new bunch are doing well. All but one opens it's mouth with no problem now. I finally got her to open her mouth. The rest have learned already to like yogurt and swallow the tube with no effort.

It's wonderful that you spend so much time and effort to help these animals. They are lucky to have such a rescuer nearby!

Great story! They are cute babies but the big ones that hiss at me are definitely not that cute lol. We had an injured one that moved into the cat house we had outside till it healed up. I didn't think he would make it but he did.

When we moved to KY nearly 33 years ago, we were told that in KY, a 7 course meal consists of road-kill possum and a 6-pack!

Glad to read that the new babies have improved and are doing well. Thanks for the possum stories - I really enjoy reading them!

If you decide to do a talk about Val, please share it here - would love to hear about it.

Also, when I saw the topic title and who it was from, my first thought was that no way would Marilyn be sharing possum recipes!

I always love reading your stories about all of your animals.

Raven, I have seen possums with horrific wounds heal right up, and I have seen perfectly healthy looking ones drop dead over night. They are strange creatures. They grow their entire lives...which are very short....good, I suppose. ;) Then if they continue to grow...like if they are kept as pets, they almost always die from congestive heart failure. I have never kept one as a pet, although I have been tempted because some of them are incredibly sweet. I had one named Praline, and she was so sweet and cuddly. They are very primitive animals and they don't usually do well as pets. If you pet them, they think you are a predator....so they really don't enjoy it. There are groups on FB for people with pet possums and they love them to the point that almost defies description but those possums are handled every day so they are more tolerant of being a pet. The ones I raise don't get handled....partly because I don't have the time and I am not trying to make them pets...and they will bite the dickens out of me every chance they get. Now a totally wild possum, will almost never bite unless it has been stressed out or is injured. They show defensive behaviors, like opening their mouths and hissing but they won't bite. I can scoop them up like a house cat, just by putting my hand under their belly. I never pick them up by their tail...like most people...even rehabbers...do. The second possum I ever raised....before I got into it on such a large scale....was a tiny baby and she slept with me, in the sleeve of my nightgown. I am a very light sleeper, so I didn't roll over on her. They don't potty on you, because as a pouch animal, the pouch must be kept clean, and so the mother possum controls when they have to potty. She stayed with me for five months, but then she wanted to go, and I let her, although she came back for several months. Always tame and would ride on my shoulder while I went around looking for something to feed her. That was Shirley. Possums are incredibly clean animals....someone said, "Ugh! They eat dead cows!!" I said, "So do I."

Dawn, I would just tell his story....how I found him online and he was in a kill pen and due to ship in a couple of days, and wished I had him, and the next day got an unexpected call from our atty. that a long time insurance claim had finally settled. So I thought that was a sign that I get him. Paid for him and two days later, he was home. How I fed him and the vet appointments to get his feet x-rayed and special shoes. and I would finish up by telling them what a very special horse he is, and how he rides so well. And I would stress that many horses end up in kill pens through no fault of their own because their owners take them to auctions, and that is where kill buyers get most of them. I would probably conclude by saying any animal should be a life time commitment and not to be discarded so casually because they could very well end up in a kill pen and might not be so lucky as Val, to find a home. I would probably also quote the statistics of the thousands of horses that ship every month to slaughter. And I would probably say that since horses are livestock, they will always be slaughtered and it was wrong to send them out of the country where it can't be overseen and regulated. If slaughter is to continue, bring it back to the states. Not one horse was saved when slaughter was outlawed in the US. All it did was increase their suffering a hundred times over.

Did you see his recent picture? He is looking good. This was made last week.

I think that would be a very powerful message to the people hearing you talk, Marilyn. Especially the last part.

I did see that last photo. He is just gorgeous. What a lucky boy and you too!

I had an accidental possum encounter the other night. I have been feeding a kitty cat on my garden table. She's a little feral cat and I haven't been able to get my hands on her. The other night I put out some fresh boiled chicken. When I went out later, in the middle of the night, without my glasses, I saw the kitty on top of the table. I started talking to her, and getting a little closer, etc. When I was within about 24" (!), I realized that that cat had a very long slim face, and that it's coat was very pale for a dark brown tabby cat, and then I realized... I was standing in the dark talking baby talk to a possum LOL.

Marilyn's "possum recipes" reminded me of a book I bought at an estate sale & sent to a friend, a devoted mother & a brand-new Grandmother, to amuse (and horrify) her. It was "The Baby Cookbook".